Rice vs Penn vs UCLA/Berkeley

College Search & Selection
1

I’ve been accepted to Rice for biomedical engineering, University of Pennsylvania for biochemistry and their Vagelos Molecular Life Sciences Program, and UCLA/Berkeley for biochemistry. I come from a public school in California’s Bay Area, and I’m deeply conflicted about which school to choose for my undergrad.

I’ve outlined my thoughts on each college below -

  1. Penn: their Vagelos program is definitely a major factor, despite the fact that about 67% of the incoming class drops out. Therefore, I’m not sure it counts as a reason for me to attend Penn. The program allows you to get a masters in 4 years and gives you a $10k stipend to do research for 2 summers. Apparently they accept 50 from each incoming class, so it is selective. In addition, Penn has a “work hard play hard” motto (social Ivy), a strong alumni network, and obviously the prestige factor. However, especially with suicide rates, I’m frankly quite scared of the immense stress, especially since I will be majoring in biochemistry, inherently one of the more difficult majors. I've also heard that Penn has a pre-professional atmosphere where everyone has the Penn face - pressure to put on an external skin of "oh my life is great when it's really not." Also, if I turn Penn down, I’ll probably constantly be thinking of what could have happened if I chose Penn.
  2. Rice: Coming from a competitive high school, Rice would be a nice change of scene since it is known for its collaborative atmosphere. In this aspect, I have the impression that student culture is the polar opposite of Penn's. The mix of liberal arts and large research institution is something really appealing to me, especially since I aspire to do research in graduate school and perhaps beyond. Houston has great weather when it’s not summer, and it’s known for having some of the happiest students. Though a great school, it’s slightly less renowned than Penn, and again, I’ll be wondering what could/would have happened if I had reached for higher. Also, I've read that opportunities in their career center is pretty limited - even though I'm interested in research and academia, I haven't ruled out the option of doing biotech in the industry.
  3. Private school tuition is expensive, and since I plan on pursuing graduate school, UCLA/Berkeley is a great choice for me as well because of the immense resources due to its name and location. The problem is there are so many people, and I won’t be able to explore as much (I’m from Cali) as I would in a new state (this is a minor concern). Also, the stress levels will be pretty similar to my high school’s. My high school is termed as a “pressure cooker” and although I survived and am thankful for the experience, you can understand why I am hesitant about repeating the experience in college. It’s not that I’m lazy; I work hard and I do have my limits.

Having so many choice is a great problem, and I’m really happy about my acceptances, but at this point, having to choose one place to spend my next four years (a decision that will affect the rest of my life) is majorly stressing me out. :000

2

First of all, congrats on your acceptances! I’d go for Rice. Sure, Penn has the ivy name, but the quality of education is at Rice is arguably as good, it has an excellent reputation, and without as much pressure. And you’re honestly no more likely to get into grad school or get a job by graduating from Penn than from Rice.

If being able to afford grad school is a concern (this depends on your family’s financial situation), then go with either UCLA or Cal. But otherwise, a much smaller school like Rice will provide more of the experience you’re looking for.

3

@beanyballs congrats! You have some awesome options in front of you. With regard to Penn’s atmosphere, my best advice is to try to attend Quaker Days and see for yourself. Talk to actual students and learn about their experiences. I can tell you that in my time at Penn I found it to be extremely collaborative and supportive. I majored in two humanities subjects and I recognize that the sciences have the capacity to be less collegial but I genuinely never met a student in the sciences who felt differently. Several of my friends completed their pre-med requirements together and they would have study groups and review sessions with each other. They never competed with one another and they were more than happy to explain confusing concepts to each other because they saw it as an opportunity to test their own knowledge for weak spots. They also knew that if they were having trouble, someone else would step in to assist them just as they did with others. There are students at any school who will be competitive and cutthroat (yes, even at places like Rice and Brown where students are known to be happy and friendly). But the vast, vast majority of Penn students simply aren’t that way. I cannot tell you how many times I bumped into my pre-med friends studying in the College House library with one another, sharing notes and just keeping each other company as they worked towards their goals. And that was very much my experience in the humanities as well.

I also had 2 friends in LSM and they both thought it was the most incredible opportunity given their interests. One dropped the program and the other graduated with her master’s. My friend who dropped LSM, however, did so not because she didn’t feel supported or she felt overwhelmed; she simply realized her passions coming into college didn’t align with what she found that she loved after spending some time exploring Penn’s wide array of course offerings. Penn made the transition out of LSM quite seamless, however, and its supportive faculty advisors helped her find her way through the curriculum outside of the program. That also reminds me of a friend who was originally an English major who decided her junior year she wanted to go to Med School. In consultation with her advisors, she was able to create a curriculum that allowed her to finish the English major and her pre-med requirements. She’s now at med school and absolutely loving it. While LSM can seem daunting, the individualized attention that Penn offers to all of its students who seek out its support makes pursuing your goals more than manageable.

The great thing about Penn too is that if you did change your mind and dropped LSM, you would still be at one of the most well resourced and prestigious universities with the ability to study anything you could potentially desire. And because of Penn’s One University Policy, you can actually take classes and do research with professors and graduate students to get a taste of going into academia and research oriented professions. All of Penn’s research institutions (like the Wistar Institute), graduate and professional schools (including the medical school) are right on Penn’s campus and both the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia are there as well, allowing students unparalleled access to research opportunities in the fields in which you’re most interested. Penn has significantly more resources for students trying to participate in research, especially in the scientific and medical fields as well.

In terms of career options, there actually is a difference between Penn and other schools, especially in the biotech industry. There are certain recruiters that only come to schools like Penn and because Penn has such a substantial dedication to biotech education and its career services office is so deeply entrenched in the biotech recruiting process, you will have a much deeper bench of resources when it comes time to apply for a job. It’s not that you absolutely cannot get the same job from another university with the right amount of effort; it’s that you may not even be aware the job is available because they aren’t recruiting on your campus. Again, because of Penn’s One University Policy, you will have the same career services resources as students from across the university so even if you drop out of LSM, you’ll still be able to utilize their robust connections to access the profession of your choice.

Finally, Penn is definitely pre-professional. That being said, the degree to which you engage with that side of Penn is totally in your hands. While I appreciated Penn’s pre-professional culture because I always knew I would have incomparable resources when it came time to find a job, I was a student of the humanities and I immersed myself in that side of my education throughout my time at Penn. The pressures of “finding the right job” and such never really registered with me until it was time to apply for them. Being at Penn, however, I had the luxury of not having to manage my career prospects from day 1 because when I went to career services to discuss my options and interests, they already had comprehensive information on how to translate my literature degree into a job that interested me though that job was totally unrelated to what I had studied in terms of content.

If you have any questions about Penn, feel free to reach out. I’m happy to share more of my experiences and those of my friends as well if you’re interested. Good luck with your choice! At the end of the day, you’ve got only good choices in front of you and I am confident you’ll be happy no matter where you go! :slight_smile: